Van Hool takes largest-ever hydrogen bus order

Van Hool has announced the largest-ever order for hydrogen buses to be delivered in Europe, with 40 vehicles to be delivered to Germany in early 2019.

30 examples of the A330 will operate in Cologne with the remaining 10 serving routes in Wuppertal. 12 metres in length and offering 29 seats with up to 49 standing, the tank capacity of 38.2kg of hydrogen allows the bus to cover 350km before refuelling.

Van Hool has already delivered 85 hydrogen buses across the world, with a further eight hydrogen-powered tram buses to be delivered to France by the second half of 2019.

Eugen Puderbach, CEO of Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH (RVK), said, “Buses with hydrogen-powered fuel cells are among the most environmentally friendly vehicles in public transport. They don’t emit any harmful substances and are much quieter than conventional city buses. By using 30 additional buses with fuel cells, we are steadily progressing on our chosen path towards sustainable public transport in our area”.

Ulrich Jaeger, Business Manager at WSW mobil GmbH, added, “We are pleased that with fuel cell (buses) we can use an environmentally friendly drive system in Wuppertal. As we also produce hydrogen with an environmentally friendly method, our project is a one-stop-shop.”